PMC Launches New Generation of IB2S Active Studio Monitors

February 11 2019, 01:10

The new generation of PMC’s IB2S active range is aimed at studios working in stereo and surround formats who require true high-end monitoring - with both analogue and digital inputs - for reference and mastering applications. According to the brand, the three-way IB2S-AII offers all the attributes of PMC’s large ATL reference active monitors but in a more compact form. The PMS IB2S-AII and the twin cabinet IB2S XBD-AII systems bring even more power, detail and flexibility.

The new generation of PMC’s IB2S active range is aimed at studios working in stereo and surround formats who require true high-end monitoring - with both analogue and digital inputs - for reference and mastering applications. According to the brand, the three-way IB2S-AII offers all the attributes of PMC’s large ATL reference active monitors but in a more compact form. The PMS IB2S-AII and the twin cabinet IB2S XBD-AII systems bring even more power, detail and flexibility.

Unlike previous iterations, the IB2S-AII and IB2S XBD-AII feature a pair of 3U rack mounted electronics per channel that contain cutting edge DSP-controlled Class-D amplification delivering 2025W for the single cabinet IB2S-AII and 3225W for the IB2S XBD-AII twin cabinet version. This increase in power lowers distortion and benefits the monitors with greater bass definition, attack and extended headroom. Housing the electronics off-board means that usability is significantly increased, especially when soffit mounting. Once installed there is no need to access their rear panels as all control of the monitor can be made via the RJ45 connect table-top remote.

The three-way IB2S-AII master cabinet can be purchased as a speaker in its own right, or together with the single-driver XBD bass cabinet to form the IB2S XBD-AII system. Both systems feature PMC’s hand-built preparatory drivers – a 10-inch carbon-fiber/Nomex piston, a 75mm fabric dome mid, and a 34mm soft-dome tweeter in each cabinet. Both systems feature proprietary ATL (Advanced Transmission Line) bass-loading technology.

As PCM details, "The IB active series uses PMC’s proprietary ‘honeycomb’ carbon- fibre/Nomex design in an extensively vented, cast-aluminum chassis. The light, ultra-rigid flat-faced 10-inch piston in each LF unit ensures a near-instantaneous, yet highly accurate transient response, while providing the sheer power required to drive the IB’s transmission line, which exceeds what a cone driver can produce without deformation. The result reduces distortion, avoids power compression, increases power handling and headroom, giving a supreme bass response and performance."

The IB2S-AII and IB2S XBD-AII both also feature PMC’s hand-built, precision-matched 34mm soft-dome HF driver and 75mm fabric soft-dome mid-range driver, renowned for their natural, transparent sound and ultra-low distortion. The perforated acoustic lens on the high-frequency driver extends the treble response to well beyond the upper limit of human hearing, and controls dispersion to ensure close integration with the mid-range; the output of both drivers is meticulously combined to create an ultra-wide, stable image and entirely natural in-room response.

"When designing the 75mm soft-dome, PMC’s aim was to create a driver capable of reproducing vocals, in particular, with unparalleled authenticity and transparency — but to high SPLs when required. Each handcrafted unit takes seven days to produce, and has to pass exceptionally tight matching and testing criteria. The result is an extremely clean, neutral and natural-sounding mid-range driver, which means it can be used for long periods without inducing fatigue," the brand adds.

Both systems also feature user-adjustable HF and LF shelving filters, ±8dB input level trim, and an AES3 digital input, as standard. The input sensitivity of the balanced analogue inputs can also be adjusted from +4dB to +16dB, all of which can be accessed via an RJ45 connected remote.

The entire Main Monitor range are powered by PMC’s cutting-edge DSP-controlled Class-D amplification, which is designed, like the loudspeaker drivers themselves, for maximum transparency, resolution and fidelity with ultra-low distortion and a high damping factor. The DSP control of the amplifiers is employed minimally; it merely fine-tunes what are already high-specification precision designs to extract an even better performance from them.

A control1200 and power2400 amplifier is dedicated to each channel on the IB2S-AII and IB2 XBD-AII, and each amplifier module has its own stable, linear and highly filtered power supply. The result is highly dynamic, near-instantaneous stop/start control over the drivers, a flat frequency response and immense headroom, no matter what the output level and frequency.

For studios with larger rooms, the IB2S XBD-AII adds a single-driver XBD bass cabinet into this system, which adds +3dB of LF headroom to deliver response down to 20Hz. The two cabinets can be mounted in a vertical or side-by-side format, again increasing their flexibility. PMC also offers dedicated vertical and horizontal centre channel versions, as well as tailor made, high mass, 33” Studio Frame Stands. The IB2S-AII and IB2S XBD-AII will ship from March 2019.www.pmc-speakers.com